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This summer, look to the center desk for library services. We've moved all 1st Floor services to that center desk. Need to check out a book, movie, or laptop? That's the place. Have a question about your research or need help with a tech problem? That's right. That's the place.

A new photography exhibit, “Cabin in the Woods: The Early Appalachian Still Life Photography of Jack Jeffers,” is now on display in the Dougherty Reading Room in Special Collections on the 4th floor of Belk Library and Information Commons. The exhibit is accessible during the regular operating hours of the Dougherty Reading Room, Monday through Friday, 10am – 4pm. Jack Jeffers donated much of his 40 years-worth of work to the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in the spring of 2011. The bulk of this work represents Jeffers’ Appalachian portfolio, which he saw as capturing a vanishing way of life in the mountain south.

Curated by Appalachian Studies graduate student and Dougherty Reading Room reference assistant David Funderburk, the exhibit includes eight photographs that represent the early stages of photographer Jack Jeffers’ decades of work documenting the Appalachian region. Jeffers’ career was marked by the artist’s desire to seek out and capture images of the “true mountain people.” The images in the current exhibit track Jeffers’ 1969 discovery of an abandoned cabin in the Virginia woods, which he saw as a relic of this disappearing way of life. Jeffers’ work presents a view of mountain life that is at once elevated to the sublime by the artist’s reverence for the precious nature of his subject matter and punctuated by horrific displays of abandonment and decay.

If you are interested in learning more about Jack Jeffers, please visit his website. For more information about the exhibit, please contact the Dougherty Reading Room at 828-262-7974 or spcoll@appstate.edu.

Read it because: It is interesting how the author traces how the history of the investigative and record keeping techniques of church inquisitors that began in the 13th century and continued to the 20th links to modern political, military and bureaucratic techniques of acquiring, organizing and using information. In short, modern public administration and bureaucracy has roots in the infamous practices of the Inquisition.

Read it because: The author is from the Rocky Mount and New Bern areas of NC, and this book is the first of the author's Pea Island Gold Trilogy. These are historical fiction based on a family line story of the NC coast. The historical side is as intriguing as the story line. I have yet to be disappointed with Mr. Lewis' offerings.

Read it because: It's like Jane Austen-lite, the witty story of an 18-year-old beauty who must find a rich husband to help prop up her crumbling ancestral home. A delightful, quick read with a satisfying conclusion.

Read it because: Ishmael is a philosophical novel written in narrative form that follows a man and his frustrations with mankind. The story begins after he responds to an ad in the paper that reads: "Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person." Quinn is similar to Marx in the sense that once you have read his work, the concepts communicated start showing up in every aspect of your life and society. Ishmael is inspirational, optimistic, and bold.

Read it because: Read by most high school students as a tale of youth, but when read as an adult it is a very different story of conflict with seemingly forgotten beginnings and senseless continuity and how adults indoctrinate their offspring to perpetuate the conflicts. As a parent, it is a chilling story of reckless action with deadly consequences for an impetuous son and daughter. Friar Laurence, in any parent's role, tries in his very human and inexpert way to influence the outcome to go differently and fails.

Read it because: Oliver imagines a world where love is viewed as a crutch, something that the educated no longer need. A cure has been found for love's delirium, and now all are required by law to receive it at 18. The story's focus on life without one of our most basic liberties is an enjoyable, challenging idea.

Need more? Visit our reference desk for more personalized suggestions. We also have access to the book review and read-alike database Novelist Plus here.

The Belk Library and Information Commons was the first building on campus to incorporate many of the goals of the LEED (U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) program.

Some highlights of your green library:

*The carpet is made of partially recycled material and is itself completely recyclable

*Cork flooring is used on the 4th floor. Cork is a sustainable resource because cork can be harvested by stripping the bark from cork trees without damaging or killing the tree. Cork also absorbs sound and is less expensive than solid wood flooring.

Students, faculty and community members are invited to read the graphic novel Persepolis: the library has placed copies of the book on 24-hour reserve. There will be a showing of the film Persepolis on Tuesday, April 30th at 6:00 pm at the library (Rm 114). Both the book and the film will be discussed afterwards.

Persepolis is a 2007 animated film based on Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel of the same name. The film received numerous awards including being a co-winner of the Jury Prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for many awards including an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution.

The film will be introduced by Dr. Renee Scherlen, who will also lead discussion on the film and book following the showing. Dr. Scherlen is a professor of Political Science at Appalachian State University; comparative politics, foreign policy, international politics, and gender are among her areas of specialization.

The event is presented by ASU Library in conjunction with the ASU Humanities Council and the Muslim Students Association with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) program. This is the fourth in a series of programs that compose the 2013 Bridging Cultures, Muslim Journeys Program.

More on the film: Filmmakers Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi collaborated to co-write and co-direct this adaptation of Satrapi's bestselling autobiographical graphic novel detailing the trials faced by an outspoken Iranian girl who finds her unique attitude and outlook on life repeatedly challenged during the Islamic Revolution.

The Guardian described the film as “superbly elegant” and goes on to note: “Persepolis gives us the sheer pleasure of narrative, rarely found in modern cinema or indeed fiction: a gripping story of what it is like to grow from a lonely imaginative child into an adult, and to find this internal tumult matched by geo-political upheaval.”

The first Information Literacy Skills Prize Awards were presented at the Celebration of Student Writing on April 17, 2013. Belk Library and Information Commons sponsored the contest, with help from the University Writing Center, the Composition Program, and Writing Across the Curriculum Program.

The prize recognizes an outstanding research paper written by a first-year Appalachian State University student for a class in UCO 1200 (First Year Seminar) or English 1000. Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, and use information effectively and it is an educational goal for every Appalachian State University graduate.

This award promotes students' active engagement in the processes of library research and encourages them to synthesize library research skills with the reading, writing and critical thinking skills developed in their first year at Appalachian.

The first place award, was a $300 gift certificate to the bookstore and it went to freshman Zachary Mennona for his paper entitled Motivation of Soldiers, Slaves, and Statesmen in the American Civil War. Zachary made abundant use of primary resources, and wrote in his reflection statement:

“Being a complete newcomer to the field of research, I am grateful to my English professor and the staff of the Belk Library for their assistance in teaching me the strategies involved in crafting a research paper….Skills like critical thinking, book analysis, information collecting, and interpretation of data developed out of necessity and allowed me to answer the rhetorical question when time finally came to writing the research down. The skills developed throughout this project will be of tremendous service to me for the remainder of life as a researcher and writer.”

The second place award, a $200 gift certificate to the bookstore, went to freshman Stephanie Filotei for her paper Borderline Personality Disorder. Stephanie noted in her reflection “At first, I dreaded finding twenty sources because that seemed like too many. In the end, I learned that it only helped me to find an abundant amount of information that would help me recognize useful sources from the useless ones.” Stephanie also made several trips to the University writing center and found they helped her improve the grammar and flow of her paper significantly.

Celebrate National Library Week (April 14-20) by taking a photo that shows what you love about Belk Library. Take an Instagram snapshot capturing something you feel is special about our library and provide a single line caption conveying the idea.

This week, theBelk Library and Information Commons joins libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide in celebrating National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries, librarians and library workers.

The winning snapshot will win a $50.00 University Bookstore gift card.

Have fun and be creative! Show us a feature that you love or a part of the library that is special to you. Here are some ideas to get you going:

Belk Library in the spring

Get collaborative in a group study room

Find the library’s best keep secrets

Relax in the Fox Reading Room

Go digital in the Digital Media Studio

Find your inner child in the Instructional Materials Center

Contest Rules

The public is encouraged to enter the Belk Library Through My Eyes contest often by tagging multiple Instragram photos with the hashtag #BelkLibraryContest. The snapshot can include a few words or a single line caption. The library’s public relations committee will choose the winning snapshot. The winner will receive a $50.00 University Bookstore gift card. The contest will officially end on Sunday, April 28th, 2013.

The contest winner will be notified via an Instagram comment from the Belk Library Instagram account. The winner must respond with their email address in order to be eligible to receive the book store gift certificate.

The photographs must obey all laws, including applicable copyright and privacy laws.

Like Your Favorite Photos!

The Instagram app allows you to “like” photos — go ahead and vote for your own photo or other photos you think are good by liking it in Instagram. The committee will take this into consideration when deciding on the winning photo.

What Is Instagram?

Instagram is an application for mobile devices that allows you to take photos, add filters for special effects, and then upload your pics to a personal photo stream. It is available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play store.

The latest issue of The Commons, the library's newsletter is now available on the library's giving page. The theme of the Spring 2013 edition is Student learning, and highlights collaborations between librarians and faculty across campus. An interview with Dean Reichel is included, outlining her twenty years of leadership and details about her future assignment in Academic Affairs.

Three days of free festivities celebrating Brazilian culture, April 10-12. Learn about Brazilian culture, including music and dance at Appalachian State University. A series of international events focusing on Brazil will be held in Plemmons Student Union. All activities are free and open to the public.

Thursday, April 11, 6:00pm - 9:00pm Greenbriar Theater, Student UnionThe documentary “Bus 174” will be shown. A panel discussion with Craig Fischer from the Department of English, Brent James from the Department of Language, Literatures & Cultures, and Bruce Dick from the Department of English will follow. The film was voted one of the 10 best films of the year by the New York Times.

Friday, April 12, 5:00pm - 10:00pm, Grandfather Ballroom, Student UnionFesta do Brasil, a Brazilian festival, will be held in the Grandfather Ballroom. Activities include an Afro-Brazilian dance workshop beginning at 5:00pm. A Capoeira performance at 6:30pm, and a traditional Brazilian dinner with music from 8:00pm to 10:00pm.

Co-sponsored by Appalachian State University, Belk Library & Information Commons, and the local community.